On the 14th April, the Media Development Authority of Singapore announced that by the end of April, Singaporeans will enjoy a new classification system for video games.

According to the press release, the new classification system was developed over a two-year period involving detailed research and extensive consultation with key stakeholders, including members of the MDA’s advisory committees, representatives from the video games distribution and retail sectors as well as parents, academics and gamers themselves.

I’m really pleased that such care and thought had been put into crafting and defining an in-depth and comprehensive rating system for the games sold in the local market. These two years of deep cooperation between the public and private sector is a testament to the commitment by the authorities on the importance of an extensive rating system to protect the young minds in our country.

To help you better understand the new system, I’ve taken the trouble to study and summarize the different tiers of the new ratings. Without further ado, here it is:

1. Mature “M18″ – Restricted title, suitable only for those 18 years and above.
2. Age Advisory “Suitable for 16 and Above” – Suitable for 16 years and above.

There.

No, stop refreshing your browser, I didn’t miss out anything. That’s it.

Two years in the making. Does this mean it took one year per rating?

Seriously, I’m not kidding. Read it here.

Let’s see how this compares with video game rating from elsewhere.

All games sold in US and Canada are regulated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and its unique because its voluntary and self-regulating. ESRB’s rating system is based on consultation with child development and academics, and nationwide research with parents. The result is that the system is age-based and most importantly, impartial.

In the end, ESRB’s system has six categories: Age 3+, Age 6+, Age 10+, Age 13+, Age 17+ and Age 18+. Along with these six categories is a list of 30 different content descriptors such as Sexual Themes, Real and Simulated Gambling, Tobacco Reference, Use of Drugs and Violent Content. So understanding game content is based on two-tiers, first look at the categorical age rating, then read the content descriptor to see why.

Full list can be found here

As a gamer, I may have some issues with how some games are rated. But as a member of the discerning public, I have to agree that ESRB’s two-tier rating system is just as comprehensive as it can get. Gaming content isn’t one dimensional, so you can’t just stick on an age rating and get it over with. The more difficult part is to explain why it is so – the aim is really to empower the buyer with the ability to make an informed choice.

Back to MDA’s rating system. Perhaps what I’m most uncomfortable about is that such a system is once again, top-down. Yes, there’s grassroots consultation but at the beginning and the end of the equation is the government’s policies.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a government-led rating system but I’d personally very much prefer that something this should be one of those policies that are public-led instead. After all, it’s us who are buying for ourselves or our loved ones. We should have created a rating system that meets the needs of the consumer, providing clear and objective information on game content that could perhaps build on what ESRB has already established. Maybe it’s just me, but I really can’t get my head around this rating system, crafted over two years that really just oversimplifies the complexity of game content.

It’s a quiet day in the office today. The silence is rather unnerving cos’ its just usually not like this. My boss is in sunny Samui, my boss’s boss is somewhere in Europe. My company recently launched a summer program where we work until 7pm from Mondays to Thursday, then on Fridays you get half-day off! Yay!

Let me see, this Monday and Tuesday I worked til’ 7-ish, Wednesday and Thursday I slaved until close to 10pm.

Why am I even here today?

Today’s the first match of the World Cup, and to be honest I’m not so hot on the World cup, or soccer even. It’s just that we have the 2006 Fifa World Cup game in the office Xbox, and I whoop everyone’s ass in that game. See, I’m not a soccer nut at all, but more of a gamer so I’ll find one thing in the game that makes my team strong and exploit it – in this case, it’ll be using the “Through ball” pass with England and cross my fingers that Rooney or Owen can finish nicely, which most of the time they do. So despite being called names all the time and being asked to employ different strategies and all, I can’t be bothered. This gets me my win. That’s what a gamer does – win. They call Soccer the “Beautiful Game” but it’s too difficult to have so many options especially in an Xbox game. I don’t really care about tactics or strategies. If the through ball works for me, I’m happy like a bird.

Did I mention it’s very quiet here in the office today?

I’ve been thinking about the Macbook Pro the whole day. My old iMac is well… old. And doesnt’ quite suit my needs anymore. I got it when I was still staying with my mum, constrainted to my own little room. Now that I have my own place, the thought of using a mac in the living room or dining table or even the bedroom seems like a compelling reason to be mobile – surf from the living room, stream music in the bedroom, chat in the toilet….. okay, maybe not the last one.

Guess I’ll wait til’ they revise it again before I consider. Who knows what the next upgrade might bring. I hope they’ll include Firewire 800 for the 15 inch and a bigger HD. Keeping my fingers (eyes and toes) crossed. And did I mention I prefer “Powerbook” to “Macbook Pro”?

Sheesh, it’s still so quiet here… i think i’ll give myself the half-day off.

*yawn*

Last thursday, I did it.

I bought myself the Xbox 360 after weeks and weeks of thinking and more thinking. On the left, introducing my new baby hooked up to my screen and 5.1 speakers.

So on Good Friday, Sarah headed off to KL with her girlfriends, leaving me two whole days to the box all by myself with no one screaming at me to do housework. So after being thoroughly acquainted with it, here’s my humble review.

This machine is leaps and bounds ahead of the first xbox (and 0.5 kg lighter too!). The graphics are fantastic hooked up to my screen via component inputs. The lines were clean and bright and the shadows and lighting effects were just gorgeous. The sound is great too, the 5.1 output is certainly more pronounced than it’s predecessor. Even playing the Halo 2’s campaign, the sound effects were different – the voices seem to come from the proper speakers now.

But of course, we know all that from the millions of other reviews on the internet. But what really struck me is really how Xbox Live works on this machine. The integration between being online and games itself is designed to be seamless and totally immersive for the gamer. You can be playing a game and hit the guide button to bring up the dashboard to check your messages or who else is online. Your friends can cross invite you from other games to join them. You can download demos, trailers and new games from Xbox Live. You can compare your in-game achievements with others around the world. Everything and more, tightly packed into a neat and gorgeous interface. And the wireless controller… you’ll never do wired again.

Impressive.

Along with this, I also bought Perfect Dark Zero which is so far not that bad. The missions in single player are quite interesting, not in a “save-the-universe-epic” kinda way like Halo 2, but sees a unique blend of different scenarios which keep the adrenaline and pace of the game going. I especially like the mission where you have to take sniper position on the rooftops covering for a team mate running through the streets below.

Despite this, I also spent quite a bit of time playing the Live arcade game preloaded in the 360 called Hexic HD. This game is strangely addictive. Darn addictive.

All in all, I’m truly happy with this machine, it exceeded my previous expectations (which were pretty darn high in the first place) and what can I say except that I can strike one off my wish list on the right sidebar. Ha. Now about that MacBook Pro….

P.S. I’ve also added my gamercard on the right, which I think looks kinda funny there… you think?

Yesterday I was talking cock with Damian, my pal from office and it went a little like this.

Damian: Hey Wooks, you got Black (an xbox game) yet?

Me: No leh, I read from the review the storyline quite sucky.

Damian: Storyline? You want storyline, go read a book!

Me: -_-”

What can I say? I’m heading to Borders this weekend.

Found this page by this dude who used lego to make mosaics of familiar Nintendo icons. Very nice, i like the mario one a lot… check it out below…

Lego Page 1
Lego Page 2
Lego Page 3

The chap’s name is Ben Mildenhall. Very good work.